On August 19, 2018, Recursor.TV attended the grande dame of science fiction conventions, Worldcon 76, held in San Jose August 16–20. We thought we’d share our Worldcon 76 recap and some photos to give you a feel of things in case you weren’t able to attend.
Intimate gatherings of “kaffeeklatches” with fans’ favorite authors, a moving Q&A with Spider Robinson, the Hugo Awards and panel discussions on everything from “Practical Telepathy: the Science and Engineering of Mind-to-Mind Communication” to “Klingon 101” — this con has it all.
Spider Robinson was this year’s Guest of Honor and is known for being one of the nicest and funniest writers working in science fiction. Stephan Herman interviewed the venerable author in a very moving discussion, in which Spider described the profound grief he experienced after losing his wife and daughter about ten years ago. It’s an experience which has left him unable to write fiction even today, although he reports being able to write some non-fiction.
The discussion then turned to lighter topics including, of course, the Callahan’s Place series, which probably stands as Spider’s greatest contribution to the sci-fi field, first appearing in stories published in the 1970s and garnering fans around the world.
Other folks roaming the Exhibit Hall included Charlie Jane Anders, John Scalzi, Cory Doctorow, and Steven Barnes, who gave an inspiring presentation on the rise of Afrofuturism.